Despite seeing Gabriel added to our list of players who will play no further part this season, Mikel Arteta has urged his players to adapt against adversity again and keep pushing for prizes.
Our central defender requires surgery on the hamstring injury he sustained against Fulham on Tuesday, which ends his 2024/25 season prematurely and will require Mikel to shuffle his pack yet again during our injury-plagued campaign.
But as we have done throughout the past nine months, he wants the squad to find new ways to get results, especially now we’re in the business end of the season and still in with a shout of European success ahead of a mouth-watering Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, and with Premier League points still up for grabs.
Reflecting on Gabriel’s setback, Mikel said: “It was a tough one to digest because we just got Bukayo back and then we lost Gabi. So it was tough, but the team reacted like it has reacted all season. I’m really proud of that and we know that he's going to be out for a while, so we need to find different solutions and keep competing the way we have been all season.
“We've come so far and now we have the most important, beautiful part of the season. We have to react to those things, and that means that other players are going to have opportunities to play and the team has to find other ways. It is a big miss undoubtedly, but we have the resources to cope with that.”
Saturday’s trip to Everton will require a new defensive partner for William Saliba, but that’s not the only headache Mikel has when it comes to his backline with Ben White and Jurrien Timber also struggling with knocks but could still be fit enough to feature.
Riccardo Calafiori could have also been a contender to replace Big Gabi, but he is also missing after sustaining an injury on international duty. Jakub Kiwior filled in against Fulham, but Mikel admits he is looking at all options ahead of the trip to the Toffees.
“Ricky is not fit, and that means in the last week or so we have lost four players and that's obviously a big task,” Mikel added. “But let's see how Ben and Jurrien are tomorrow. There's a chance [they could be fit]. That's it - we must keep playing and competing the way we have been.
“We have a few of those [calls], so we're going to have to decide this evening or tomorrow very early in the morning which players we can play and for how long especially.
“There are a few [options] on the table. How far we have to go down that route, hopefully not that deep, but there are always options.”
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